Not to be confused with the 1988 movie, Running on Empty is a dark comedy with light science fiction overtones. In a world where America’s financial decisions are predicated by your death date and LDC’s (last day credits), our protagonist Mort (Keir Gilchrist) has a problem. He has 345 days to live. Upon learning this tragic detail, his fiancé Nicole (Francesca Eastwood) dumps him. To complicate matters for Mort, he meets an escort named Rita (Leslie Stratton), who dies on him right before serving him orally. Her pimp Simon (Rhys Coiro), is stalking him in order to obtain what starts out as 500 dollars for Rita’s offer of a blow job. Taking Mort’s car as collateral, Simon will spend his time intermittently accosting Mort. This is due to the fact Simon owes a loan shark named Big Rey (Isaac C. Singleton Jr.)
Mort, meanwhile, has contracted with a dating service for persons whose death dates are coming up fast, ‘Til Death Do Us Part. The service turns out to be a rotating wheel of losers and psychos, as well as people going through rough times. The woman who records participants’ video intros, Kate (the enchanting Lucy Hale), strikes up a friendship with Mort one Saturday when he’s hit a very low point. There is real chemistry between Kate and Mort. It’s fascinating to witness, as in all other aspects of his life, Mort is generally trapped in terrible emotional messes.
“He has 345 days to live. Upon learning this tragic detail, his fiancé Nicole dumps him.”
Running on Empty is pitch black in its humor. This is the first feature length film from writer/director Daniel André. Consequently, the humor is precisely what tickles Mr. André’s pickle, as it were. André’s taste varies from sweetly romantic to risqué. The jokes which land most strongly are the ones with overt sexual undertones. Otherwise, the film plays out smoothly with small moments of tension, as a film concerning the life of a mortician should be, especially one who is being stalked by a deranged pimp.
The production values for Running on Empty are excellent. This is a beautifully shot, artfully lit film that flits between Mort’s inner mind palace and the real world. I like that the film takes a page from the classic HBO series Six Feet Under and presents a few conversations between Mort and the corpses he’s tasked with beautifying. It in these scenes where Mort demonstrates his technique and skill that Running on Empty really shines.
The acting in Running on Empty is generally great. Gilchrist and Hale, as mentioned earlier, have delightful chemistry. Those two young people could find themselves in a series of screwball romances, and that would be fine by me. Jim Gaffigan is great as Mort’s uncle Barry. Even Coiro’s Simon is a credible threat in the scenes he appears in. The real antagonist of this film is, of course, time. Time is what Mort is actively running out of. Generally, I found Running on Empty to be a joyful contemplation of life. It’s also a pretty solid calling card for Daniel André. Seek it out if you like this sort of comedy
"…a joyful contemplation of life..."
